This paper assesses whether ratification of human-rights treaties is associated with improved health and social indicators. Data for health (including HIV prevalence, and maternal, infant, and child [<5 years] mortalities) and social indicators (child labour, human development index, sex gap, and corruption index), gathered from 170 countries, showed no consistent associations between ratification of human-rights treaties and health or social outcomes. Established market economy states had consistently improved health compared with less-wealthy settings, but this was not associated with treaty ratification. The paper suggests more stringent requirements for ratification of treaties, improved accountability mechanisms to monitor compliance of states and financial assistance to support the realisation of the right to health.
Values, Policies and Rights
Incomes have slipped to their lowest level in a decade since Madagascar’s 2009 coup d’etat, and, in parallel, domestic violence has sharply risen, according to IRIN News. The World Bank’s October 2012 economic update estimates that, since 2008, another four million people have fallen below the poverty level. The rising poverty has exacerbated women’s vulnerability in this deeply traditional society. Locals report more domestic conflict over family resources, as well as increased alcohol and drug abuse. Impoverished women also have fewer options to escape violence and are less able to advocate for the safety of themselves and their children. A spokesperson for a legal aid clinic near Antananarivo said that women often feel they have neither the ability nor the right to end abuse. A community spokesperson also reported that most domestic fights were about money and abusive men were often drunk when assaulting their partners.
In South Africa, an increased risk for gender-based domestic violence against women during the COVID-19 lockdown was reported by various sources including the national gender-based violence call centre (GBVCC), the South African Police Service and the civil society. Public life, which is frequently a coping mechanism and an escape for some women and girls at risk of domestic violence, was curtailed by the lockdown rules that forbade movement. Informal sources of help for victims of abuse were limited due to closure of economic activities, and community-based services for domestic violence were not permitted to open. Some victims of domestic violence struggled with public transport to access informal help, or to visit the police, social workers and other sources of help. Some organisations offered online and telephone services and the authors suggest that the risk of violence during crisis periods could be averted by a more sustained and wider focus on reducing risk of all forms of violations against women.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, newly elected Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the next five years, believes WHO must evolve and adapt to urgent global health challenges, and “put the right to health at the core of its functions, and be the global vanguard to champion them.” Universal health coverage will be his topmost priority. “The growing momentum around universal health coverage—combined with the global commitment to sustainable development and its motto of “leaving no one behind”—offers unique opportunities to advance equity in health.” In a Q&A with Health and Human Rights Dr Tedros discussed the “hundreds of millions of people missing out on essential health care or falling into poverty trying to pay for it. That is a violation of the human right to health that demands our full attention and urgent action.” He acknowledged that implementation of policies to achieve universal health cover is difficult and requires collaboration and partnership across stakeholders. He explained this collaborative approach guided Ethiopia’s pursuit of equitable health access when he was minister of health. Dr Tedros told Health and Human Rights that he is committed to transforming the way that WHO operates with the core principles of health as a human right and universal health coverage for the most vulnerable are at the forefront of all our work. Too often, Dr Tedros noted, human rights and gender equity are secondary considerations when UN organisations develop programming. He stressed that this is outdated and must change.
On 25-26 October 2018, the world will come together to renew a commitment to strengthening primary health care to achieve universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. The World Health Organisation (WHO) have received over 500 comments on the Draft Declaration on Primary Health Care and incorporated them in this updated draft. This draft describes the need for Primary Health Care to address today’s health challenges. WHO are reopening the public consultation to ensure that voices of a broad range of stakeholders are included and has circulated a draft declaration for comment. It goes to in-person member state consultation in early August. The proposed text is provided at the website.
Following consultation by the Joint Action and Learning Initiative on National and Global Responsibilities for Health on the FCGH in Geneva in May 2013, JALI and several partners who participated in the consultation developed a draft Framework for an FCGH. This is aimed at providing greater clarity on the principles and core content of the FCGH, building on the FCGH Manifesto. In the hopes of forging a broad consensus around this document, JALI is circulating the draft and calling for feedback on the Framework to improve it and ensure that it represents a shared vision. The Framework will then serve as a platform for a Campaign for an FCGH.
AIDS activists in Uganda have slammed a proposed new law that will force HIV-positive people to reveal their status to their sexual partners, and also allow medical personnel to reveal someone's status to their partner. The HIV Prevention and Control Bill (2008) is intended to provide a legal framework for the national response to HIV, as well as protect the rights of individuals affected by HIV. The bill in its current form could worsen the difficulties many HIV-positive people experience. Certain sections of the bill needed to be revised, for instance, the provision that HIV status disclosure would be mandatory for couples planning to marry, which can only have serious repercussions in a male-dominated society; at least three women have been killed by their husbands this year because they were positive.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Paul Hunt, today launched for public consultation a draft 'Human Rights Guidelines for Pharmaceutical Companies in relation to Access to Medicines'. Access to medicines is a central feature of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. States have primary responsibility for enhancing access to medicines, as set out in the expert's report to the UN General Assembly last year (13 September 2006, A/61/338). The Special Rapporteur routinely questions Governments about their national medicines policies and implementation plans.
This proposed strategy provides a vision and way forward on how the world and its health community need to respond to environmental health risks and challenges until 2030, and to ensure safe, enabling and equitable environments for health by transforming ways of living, working, producing, consuming and governing. The Health Assembly noted the report, and requested the Director-General to report back on progress at the 74th World Health Assembly in 2022. The WHO draft global strategy envisions a world in which sustainable development has eliminated the almost one quarter of the disease burden caused by unhealthy environments, through health protection and promotion, good public health standards, preventive action in relevant sectors and healthy life choices, and which manages environmental risks to health. The strategy sets six strategic objectives. Strategic objective 1 aims towards primary prevention: to scale up action on health determinants for health protection and improvement in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Strategic objective 2 calls for cross-sectoral action to act on determinants of health in all policies and in all sectors. Strategic objective 3 concerns a strengthening health sector leadership, governance and coordination roles. Strategic objective 4 aims towards building mechanisms for governance, and political and social support. Strategic objective 5 calls for generating the evidence base on risks and solutions, and to efficiently communicate that information to guide choices and investments. Lastly, strategic objective 6 aims to guide actions by monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
This study explores and describes the views of drivers and conductors on the causes of workplace violence (WPV) and ways of preventing it in the road passenger transport sector in Maputo, Mozambique. The design was qualitative. Participants were purposefully selected from among transport workers identified as victims of WPV in an earlier quantitative study, and 32 transport professionals were interviewed. The triggers and causes of violence included fare evasion, disputes over revenue owing to owners, alcohol abuse, overcrowded vehicles, and unfair competition for passengers. Failures to meet passenger expectations, e.g. by-passing parts of a bus route or missing stops, were also important. There was disrespect on the part of transport workers, e.g. being rude to passengers and jumping of queues at taxi ranks, and there were also robberies. Proposals for prevention included: training for workers on conflict resolution, and for employers on passenger-transport administration; and promoting learning among passengers and workers on how to behave when travelling collectively. Regarding control and supervision, participants expressed the need for the recording of mileage and for the sanctioning of workers who transgress queuing rules at taxi ranks. They also requested that police or supervisors should prevent drunken passengers from getting into vehicles, and said drivers should refuse to go to dangerous, secluded neighbourhoods. Finally, participants called for an institution to judge alleged cases of employees not handing over demanded revenues to their employer.